Reclining chair



May 4, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 3, 1947 mm m0 W R HM D! E S Ov.

ATT'Y.

May 4,

2 RECLINING CHAIR Filed De 3' 7 3 Sheets-s 3 6 /|O s2 I w 33m in? o E 72v 24 7 I E: I00} I 1f 33 mm FIG. 6

2s 1 I 27 a M18 E12;- 19 16 f N 7 30 IO] mm sa o n "Hm I z: 24 :9; 4 140 as? I 1 I W um! um .00 MW 2 2: I5 74 23 H 44 4s 02 22 FIG. 7

L9 89 as 81 FI G 9 Q 1 VENTOR: JOSEPH R'THOMAS Patented May 4, 1954 TEDSTATES ATT OFFICE 12 Claims.

This invention relates in general to a reclinin chair in which aplurality of connected sections are movable at different angles to swingthe back and an intermediate section relative to the seat to formdifferent upright andinclined variations of the sections.

An important object of the invention is to provide an inclinable chairwith connected seat, back, and intermediate sections which will assumeany relative inclined position with respect to each other in which theyare placed, and will retain this position until they are changed eitherby an occupant of the chair or by manually changing the inclination ofthe sections when not cupying the chair.

A further object of the invention is to mount the connected sections ina chair frame so that the inclination of the back relatively alters thepositions of the sections with respect to each other, advancing the seatsection forwardly as the back section is inclined downwardly andsimultaneously inclining the intermediate section.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lity of connectedseat, back, and intermedir ..a aye sections for a folding chair whichare adapted to be assembled independently and mounted in chair ends ofvarious designs.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the specification and willbe apparent from the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a reclining chair in accordance with thisinvention showing part of the chair cover and part of the coveringbroken away to illustrate the connection of the connected sections in aframe;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view showing the connections of one of thecushions by means of a cover to one of the section frames;

3 is a sectional side elevation showing the connected sections of Fig. 1in a partially inclined and reclinin position;

Fig. i is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the connected sections withthe back in a substantially upright position;

is a detail edge view of the mounting block plate shown in Fig. 4;

5 illustrates a modification of the connection and mounting of the seat,back, and intermediate sections;

Fig. '7 illustrates another variation of the mounting and connection-ofthe seat, back, and intermediate sections;

8 illustrates another method of mounting the forward end of'theseatsection with stops to 2. limit its movement in both forward andrearward directions; and

Fig. 9 illustrates a mounting of the front of the seat section upon aroller which allows it to move freely within limits in both directions.

Many reclining chairs are of the type in which it is necessary to adjustthe relative inclination of the back and seat, and require a complicatedor cumbersome fastening or holding means to secure the sections in theirrelative adjusted positions. The present invention not only provides achair with relatively inclinable sections, but also the connectedsections are so mounted and supported in the chair frame that they tendto retain any position in which they are set, making it unnecessary tofrequently mechanically adjust, lock or fasten any one of the sectionsin any adjusted position. The change in position may usuaily beaccompanied by pressure of the body of a person within the chair, andsince the chair sections are all connected, a continuous supportingsurface is provided from the front of the seat to the top of the back.For securing th sections temporarily in any adjusted position, a, simplefastening bolt may be used;

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the relativelyinclinable seat sections are mounted in a chair frame comprising sidearm frames It, a front board [2, a front metal angle cross brace it, anda rear metal angle cros brace it. Sometimes the front'board is connectedto the front of the seat section, but usually it is connected betweenthe front post's'of the chair frame or to the front cross brace M if oneis attached.

Connected back, seat, 'and intermediate sections, I6, I: and l8,respectively, are each preferably formed of metal angle bars forming themarginal frame of each section with a mattress supporting resilientfabric 2B"composed'of wire and springs extending across the sectionsbetween the marginal frames and'extending continuously lengthwise fromthe top of'the back section to the front of the seat section.

The seat section preferably comprises a rear downwardly bent portion-orattached-side arms 2! connected by a crosspiece 22 and having astrengthening link in the angle between each of the downward extendingarms and the crosspiece and another strengthening link 24 between eachdownward extending arm and the side of the seat section.

The back section may consist of a single bar, bent to form sides 25, thelower ends of'which have a cut-out 2S to'receive' ends of sidebars 3 21of the intermediate section, each connected thereto by a pivot 28. Theother end of each side bar 27 is connected by a pivot 29 with theprojecting end of a strap 36 secured to the rear extremity of the seatsection I! by fastenin rivets 3|. Thus the seat, back, and intermediatesections form a continuous connected support with pivots at both ends ofthe intermediate section joining it to the back and seat respectively.The downward cross brace at the rear end of the seat section is ofsufficient strength to support the spring fabric intermediate the endsof the connected frames so that any suitable cushions or upholstery maybe applied thereto. The preferred covering comprises a seat cushion 32and a combined back and intermediate section cushion 34 of a flexibleand resilient material such as sponge rubber, held in place by a cover36 of fabric or any other suitable material, the fabric extending overthe edge of a metal frame as shown in Fig. 2 and suitably connected byupholstery tacks 37 to a fastening strip 38 secured to the inside of theangle bar by fastening bolt 39. Other means of fastening the upholsteryor cushions in place may be employed as this construction is not a partof the present invention.

To mount the connected frame sections for movement in a chair frame, oneend of a link 46 is connected by a pivot 4| with the under side of theseat section and the other end of the link is connected by a pivot 42with a mounting bar 44 adapted to be secured to the inside of the chairarm frame ill by fastening screws 45 or any other suitable means.

The rear end of the seat section is supported by a lever 45 having apivot 41 at the lower end of the downwardly extending arm 2! and at thelower end of the lever. Near the upper end of the lever, it is connectedby a pivot 48 with the upper end of the supporting bar 54 and with theupper arm of the lever projecting above the pivot.

At each rear lower side of the back section i6 is a projecting rib 50extending from the lower end of the side rail 25 and preferablyprojecting angularly below it where the extremity is con nected by apivot 5| with one end of a link 52, the other end of which is connectedby a pivot 53 with the upper end of the lever 46. With this coordinatingconnection, any change in the angular movement of the back section willcause a change in the forward or rearward displacement of the seatsection I1, limited by the connection of the side bars 2'! of theintermediate section i 8.

In order to properly guide and retain the sections in recliningpositions, each side bar 2'! of the intermediate section is connected bya pivot 54 about centrally of its ends, with one end of a link 55, theother end of which is connected by a pivot 56 with the outer side of asupporting plate 58, the upper end of which is offset (see Fig. 5) toallow the link 52 to move downwardly at the inside of the plate. Theplate 58 may be secured to a spacing block 59 which in turn is securedto the adjacent inside rear edge of the side arm frame M as shown.

With this construction, the intermediate section may rock freelyupwardly and downwardly upon the links at each side thereof forpositioning the intermediate section in alignment with the back sectionas shown in Figs. 1 and 4, or in a more or less inclined position asshown in Fig. 3.

To additionally strengthen and space the side bars 21 of theintermediate section apart, a U-shaped cross frame 60 may be secured atits extremities to the side bars 2? by rivets 6i and held in distendedposition by an angle brace 62 at each end.

Instead of connecting the link 52 to the upper end of the lever 46, aconstruction as shown by Fig. 6 may be substituted in which a link (itmay be connected at its lower end by a pivot 67 with the lower side arm2| of the cross brace of the seat section, and the upper end of the linkis connected by a pivot 68 with the upper end of the supporting bar 44at approximately the location of the pivot .8 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.Instead of connecting the link 52 from the back section to the upper endof the lever 46, a link '20 as shown in Fig. 6 is connected by a pivot Hwith a strap 12 attached at the rear end of the side bar of the seatsection I! and connected thereto by fastening rivets 13. The side bars2'! of the intermediate section [8 are connected as pro viouslydescribed to the offset plates 58 by links 55.

In the modification shown in Fig. '7, a supporting link M; i connectedby a pivot E5 to the side arm frame Hi at the rear of the seat section,and the upper end of the link is connected by a pivot E5 which extendsthrough the end of strap 33 attached at the rear of the seat section andalso through the adjacent end of the side bar '2') of the intermediatesection l8. Thus the rear of the seat section and the lower end of theintermediate section are connected and rocked together. The lower end ofeach rib 50, projecting from the back section, is connected by means ofa link 18 having a pivot 19 at one end connecting it to the end of therib 55 and by a pivot 89 at the other end connecting it to the link '54inter mediate the ends thereof. The intermediate section i8 is connectedat each side by means of a link 55 extending to a plate 58.

In each of the forms, a balancing or counterbalance spring or springs 82are connected between the lower end of the seat section brace and thecross brace 5 at the rear of the connected frames i0.

At the front of the seat section, its movement may be limited byangularly disposed stops 84 and 23 carried by the mounting bar M and encgaging opposite edges of the supporting link so wardly, each side bar ofthe seat section may be supported by a roller 81 mounted upon a pivot35, secured to the adjacent inside surface of the frame end l0. Limitstops 89 may be secured to each side bar of the seat section relativelyin front of and behind the roller 87, thereby limiting the movement ofthe seat section in that direction.

The front end of the seat frame may be supported by a downwardlyextending braced leg as (Fig. 8) to the lower end of which a link 9: ispivoted having its upper end connected to a fixed pivot 92 supported bythe frame iii, the opposite swinging movements of the link being limitedby the angularly disposed stops 94 and 56 also secured to the chairframe end Id.

In this construction, the pivotal connections between the sections andthe mounting parts are frictionally resistant so that the parts do notmove freely and easily, but must have some pressure applied thereto forrelative movement. This is effected in part by the rivet connections andthe pivotal mounting between the sections, the mounting of the sectionsin the frame, the relative spacing of the links and levers, and thebalancing and counter-balancing of the chair sections in the supportingframe by means of countenbalancing springs. The resistance is such thatwhen the chair sections are moved, for example, to upright position,they tend to remain that position, and unless the back is pressedrearwardly by a person in the chair pushing rearwardly upon the back, orthe seat is pushed. forwardly or backwardly, the chair sections willtend to remain in that position, and they will also tend to remain inany relative inclined position in which they are pushed or moved by aperson within the chair or occupying the sections from without thechair. Thus it is usually unnecessary to have any operating or incliningmechanism or looking parts, and the chair sections readily assume abalanced. and stationary position at any angle in which they are placed.

If desired, a simple positive locking means may be provided comprising apin 9? siidable in a bracket 98 secured to the outer side of the framethe seat section ii and having a pointed extremity adapted to engage inany one of a number of perforations $9 in one web of an angle bar theattached through the other web to a suitable fired support such as themounting bar 44. The pin has a head Iiil by which it may be raised andlowered in the bracket and engaged in and disengaged from theperforations 99.

These constructions are prefabricated and assembled upon the mountinbars i t and the supporting plates 53 so they may be applied andconnected to chair side arm frames it by simply attaching the bars andplates in the proper relative positions. This makes it easier to connectthe sections and apply the cushions and upholstery, to finish the sidearm frames, and to mount the se tions in diiierent frames, if desired.It is also and less expensive to pack and ship the recons and framesfrom a manufacturer to a dealer, and the parts occupy less storage spacein nook-down condition.

is the preferred constructions have been ed in some detail, they shouldbe regarded ay of il ustration and example rather than as restrictionand limitation of the invention, as ions changes in the construction,combination, 1 arrangement of the parts may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention.

1 claim:

A reclining chair, comprising a chair frame, totally interconnectedseat, back, and interediate sections movable relatively with respect chother in a predetermined manner, means i connecting the seat andintermediate sections for swinging movement in the chair frame, andconnected to the back section and 1e other section for moving it in apredei ined manner relatively to the other sections the other twosections swing in the and r changing the angularpositions of althe seciswith respect to each other.

A reclining chair, comprising a chair frame, back, and intermediatesections pivotally i terconnected together for relative movement anrespect to each other in a predetermined 11151, means to mount the seatsection on the e of the chair frame to swing forwardly and re vardly inthe frame, means to mount the intermediate section on the chair framefor swinging movement about the inner end of the seat section, and meansconnectedtothe back section and to one other sectionfor-moving'it inapredetermined manner relatively to the other sections as the seatsection swings forwardly or rearwardly-and causing the intermediatesection to swing-relatively to both of the other sections.

3. In a reclining chair, a chair frame, a seat section and means tomount it for forward and rearwardly swinging movement in the frame, anintermediate section pivotally connected at the rear of the seatsection, means connecting the intermediate sectionto the chair framewhereby the intermediate section may pivotand move upwardly anddownwardly when the seat-section is moved forwardly and rearwardly, aback section pivotally connected to the free end of the intermediatesection, and-means including'atleast one link connecting the backsection to the inner end of the seat section so that .the angularpositions of all of the sections are changedwith respect to each otherwhen either the seat section or the back section is moved relatively inthe frame.

4. In a reclining chair, a chair frame, a seat section and means formountingthe seat section to swing forwardly and'rearwardly in the chairframe, an intermediate section pivotally connected at the rear end ofthe seat section and extending relatively upward therefrom, link meansfor mounting the intermediate section on the chair frame to swingto moreor less inclined positions depending upon the forward swinging movementof the seat section, a back section pivoted to the upper end of theintermediate section, and a support for the 'backsection comprising arib extending downwardly from each side thereof, a link pivoted at oneend to the rib and pivoted at the other end to mounting means at therear of the seat section.

5. In a reclining chair, .a chair frame, a seat section and meansincluding levers at the rear end of the section pivoted intermediatetheir ends to the adjacent chair frame for supporting the rear 'end ofthe seatisection for forward and rearward swinging movement, anintermediate section pivotally connected at one end to the rear of theseat section, a back section pivotally connected to the other end of theintermediate tion, means mounting the'intermediate section in the framefor swingingmovement forwardly and rearwardly with the seat section, andmeans including a link pivotally connected to the lower end of the backsection at each side thereof, and the other end of the link "pivotallyconnected to the upper end of the adjacent lever supporting the rear endof the seat section so that the forward movement of the seat sectionswings the back section rearwardly upwardly and inclines theintermediate section accordingly. 7

6. In a reclining chair, a chair frame, a seat section mounted in thechair frame to swing forwardly and'rearwardly and including a mountinglever connectedat its lower end to the seat section, pivotedintermediate its ends to the adjacent side of thechair frame and havingaportion extending abovethepivot, an intermediate section pivotailyconnected at one-endto the rear end of the seat section a-back sectionpivotally connected to the other end-ofthe intermediate section, meansmounting the intermediatesection on the chair frame to swing forwardlyand rearwardly with'the seat section, a supporting" rib extendingdownwardly at each side of the back section, and .a linkpivota'llyconnected atone end to the rib and at the other end to the upper portionof the mounting lever for the seat section.

7. In a reclining chair, a chair frame, a seat section having a reardownwardly extending cross brace, means mounting the seat section forswin ing movement in the chair frame including a lever pivoted at itslower end to one side of the cross brace and a fixed pivot near itsupper end connected to the chair side frame, a portion of the leverextending above the fixed pivot, an upwardly inclined intermediatesection pivotally connected to the rear of the seat section, linkspivotally mounting the intermediate section to swing forwardly andrearwardly with the seat section, a back section pivotally connected tothe upper end of the intermediate section, a supporting rib extendingdownwardly at each side of the back section and a link pivotallyconnected at one end to the supporting rib and at the other end to theupper extremity of the upwardly projecting lever portion, the movementof one section effecting a corresponding movement of the other sections.

8. In a reclining chair, a chair frame, a seat section and meansmounting it for swinging movement forwardly and rearwardly in the chairframe, the rear mounting means comprising a brace extending downwardlyat the rear of the seat section, a lever connected at its lower end tothe lower end of the brace and connected intermediate its ends to afixed point of the chair frame, an intermediate section pivotally connected at one end to the rear of the seat section, a back sectionpivotally connected to the other end of the intermediate section, meansmounting the intermediate section for upward inclined movement withrespect to the seat section, said means comprising a link connected atone end between the front and rear of the side of the intermediatesection, an offset plate secured to the inside of the chair frame, theother end of the link pivoted to the inner side of the offset plate, adownwardly extending rib at each side of the back section, another linkconnected at one end to the rib and connected at the other end to theupper end of the lever which supports the rear of the seat section andthis link being movable at the outside of the adjacent link for mountingthe intermediate section and movable between the said offset plate andthe inside of the seat frame from which it is ofiset.

9. In a reclining chair, a chair frame, a seat section and a backsection pivotally interconnected by an intermediate section, swingingmeans pivoted to the inside of the chair frame for mounting the seatsection to swing forwardly and backwardly in the chair frame, linksconnecting the intermediate section in an upwardly inclined position andmovable forwardly and rearwardly with the seat section, a supporting ribextending downwardly at each side of the back section, link meansconnected at one end to the lower end of the supporting rib and at theother end to one of the swinging means pivoted to the inside of theadjacent chair frame, and spring means connecting the rear of the seatsection to the chair frame and tending to move the seat sectionrearwardly and to align the intermediate section and the back section inan inclined position at the rear of the seat section.

10. A reclining chair, comprising a chair frame, pivotallyinterconnected seat, back, and intermediate sections movable relativelywith respect to each other in a predetermined manner, means forconnecting the seat and intermediate sections iii) to the inside of thechair frame for swinging movement in the chair frame, means connected tothe back section and to one other section for moving it in apredetermined manner relative to the other sections and for moving theother two sections for swinging movement in the frame, and spring meansconnecting the rear of the seat section and the rear of the chair frametending to move the seat section rearwardly in the chair frame and toalign the intermediate section and the back section in an inclinedposition at the rear of the seat section.

11. In a reclining chair, a chair frame, pivotally interconnected seat,intermediate and back sections, means mounting the seat section forforward and rearward swinging movement in the chair frame, andcomprising an upwardly extending lever pivotally secured to the chairframe and pivotally connected at its lower end to the rear end of theseat section, means mounting the intermediate section on the chair framein an inclined position extending upwardly from the rear of the seatsection, the intermediate section being adapted to be inclined to alesser degree by the forward movement of the seat section, meanssupporting the back section comprising a downwardly extending rib and alink connected at one end to the lower end of the rib and connected atthe other end to the upper end of the lever to which the rear of theseat section is connected, a spring tending to pull the seat sectionrear- Wardiy and to swing the back section forwardly into alignment withthe intermediate section, the back and intermediate sections movingrelatively upward as the seat moves forwardly in the frame.

12. In a reclining chair, a chair frame, pivotally interconnected seat,intermediate and back sections, means mounting the seat section forforward and rearward swinging movement in the chair frame, andcomprising an upwardly extending lever pivotally secured to the chairframe and pivotally connected at its lower end to the rear end of theseat section, means mounting the intermediate section on the chair framein an inclined position extending upwardly from the rear of the seatsection the intermediate section being adapted to be inclined to alesser degree by the forward movement of the seat section, meanssupporting the back section comprising a J downwardly extending rib anda link connected at one end to the lower end of the rib and connected atthe other end to the upper end of the lever to which the rear of theseat section is connected, a perforated bar secured to the chair frameand projecting parallel with and below the seat section, and a pinslidably supported at the edge of the seat section and engageable withany one of the perforations of the bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 410,591 Hoffman Sept. 10, 1889 488,773 Peck Dec. 27, 18922,026,153 Wright Dec. 31, 193 2,369,076 Schmued Feb. 6, 1945 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 364,980 Great Britain July 7, 1931 701,781Germany Jan. 23, 19 ll 730,191 France May 9, 1932 777,807 France Dec. 5,1934

